Display rack



Dec. 21, 1937. w, E, SHOEMAKER ET AL 2,102,977

DISPLAY RACK 4 Filed Dec. 14, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l Gerffia/ FrenchATTORNEYS 1937- w. EQSHOEMAKER ET AL 2,102, 77

' DISPLAY RACK v F iled Dec. 14, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORyVl'l/l'am E 5 7 a Q Ma /rer- Geri/m Franc/1' ATTORNEYS Patented Dec.21, 1937 DISPLAY E. Shoemaker, Freeport, and Gerthal N French, Manhunt,N. Y., assignors .to' Sinclair Refining Company, New York, N. Y., .a

.- 'j vcorporationof Maine Application December 14, 1933. Serial No.702,300

' 4 claims. (on. ans-22s) This invention relates to an improved displayrack and tool or instrument support. The improved display rack of thepresent invention is of especial utility asiaidisplay rack and supportfor currently used lubricating equipment in service stations where theservice requires the frequent usage of a variety of difierentoil andgrease guns and connecting devices. Such equipment is usually mounted ordisplayed at service stations in full view of the public so that apleasing appearance at all times is desirable even though the verynature of the work to which such equipment regularly is subjectedinvolves frequent "handling of the equipment and touching of the displayrack with soiled hands. For this reason frequent and thorough cleaningis required if apleasing appearance is to be preserved. However,frequent thorough cleaning becomes a time-consuming and expensive itemunless the cleaning operation is made as simple as possible. For examplewith a display rack bearing numerous supports for a variety of differentequipment, cleaning ofthe face of the display rack around the base ofthe instrument supports is a tedious and time-com. suming undertaking.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a display rack andinstrument support which although of relative cheap and ruggedconstruction, presents a very pleasing appearance, provides a largenumber of substantial and conveniently arranged supporting membersaccommodating all of the instruments usually required for this type ofservice, and at the same time provides for the convenient removal fromthe face of the display rack of either the instruments themselves or theinstruments and the supporting members so as to facilitate cleaning.

The invention will be further described in connection with theaccompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred form of the displayrack of the invention.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a partly assembled display rack, several ofthe instrument supports being in place and others removed;

support particularly adapted to hold a bulky grease gun. It is similarin construction to that shown in the upper left-hand corner of Fig. 1;

Figs. 5 and 6 are an elevation and a plan, re-

spectively, of a blanking disc adapted to cover such of the apertures inthe display rack as may not be required for regular usage; and

Figs. 7 and 8 are plan views of modified forms of instrument supportingmembers.

The display rack proper as illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises a heavy rigidbacking sheet, preferably of sheet steel, and a thin polished facingsheet selected to present the desired appearance. For example, thefacing sheet may consist of a sheet of light gage copper orporcelain-coated sheet metal.

The backing sheet I and the facing sheet 2 are held together around theperiphery by a suitable molding 4 as shown in detail in Fig. 3. A seriesof apertures 5 are appropriately spaced in the backing sheet. Similarlyformed but slightly smaller apertures are provided in the facing sheetand these apertures are so positioned as to register with the aperturesin the backing sheet. The edge of the facing sheet around such aperturesis drawn into the aperture in the backing sheet. The drawn etmessurrounding the apertures in thefacing sheet extend through to the rearsurface of the backing sheet as shown in detail at 6 in Fig. 3 givingthe appearance of a solid sheet of the material of which the facingsheet is made.

The apertures are shaped so as to provide an enlarged upper portion witha relatively narrow slot extending downwardly therefrom.

The supporting members may assume various forms depending on the servicerequired. The form of instrument support shown in Fig. 4 is particularlyadapted for grease guns or similar heavy bulky instruments. It consistsof a pair of supporting members 1 formed from strap metal, rigidlysecuredto a connecting bar 8 as by riveting or welding or in anysuitable manner. The supporting members I are formed so that thesupporting arms 9 and an instrument mounted therein will be held wellaway from the surface of the facing sheet.

The supporting arms 9 preferably are extended to form slightly more thana semi-circle and are proportioned of such thickness relative to theelastic properties of the material employed as to permit a slightdefection without permanent deformation. With this construction thecylindrical body of a grease gun or other instrument when insertedtherein will be yieldingly retained as well as supported.

The supporting members I are provided with projections l0 rigidlysecured to the rear surface of the supporting members inany suitablemanner, as, for example, by riveting. The projections i0 have at theirouter extremity an enlarged section I I of suflicient size just topermit their insertion through the enlarged upper portions of theapertures 5. At their base the projections are narrowed as shown at l2,the width of the narrow part being just sufficient to snugly fit thelower slotted portion of the apertures 5. The projections are spacedapart a distance equal to the distance between a pair of thehorizontally spaced apertures. This spacing may be the same for severaldifferent supports or different for each support, so that eachinstrument support can be attached to the backing sheet only in oneposition.

The entire support is mounted on the display rack by inserting theprojections l0 through the enlarged upper portions of the apertures 5and then sliding the entire support downwardly until the narrowedportions l2 of the projections Ill rest within the lower slotted portionof the apertures. In this position the enlarged outer portion H of theprojections l0 and the rear face of the supporting member 1 exertpressure on the rear of the backing sheet and on the front of the facingsheet, respectively, so that the supporting member serves the purpose ofsupporting and yieldingly retaining the instrument it is intended tosupport, and at the same time the further purpose of firmly holdingtogether the backing sheet and the facing sheet, thereby preventingbulging of the latter. The appearance of the supports may be improved byproviding facing strips l3 for the connecting bars 8. Such facing stripsadvantageously may bear a legend identifying the character of thelubricant for which the instrument mounted in each support is intended,by reason of its construction or the material with which the instrumentis charged.

The form of instrument support illustrated in Fig. 8 is adapted for lessbulky equipment and for equipment which it is desirable to hold in anupright position. It consists of a single pair of spring retaining arms911 provided with a single supporting projection H. The projection H issimilar in construction and attachment to the projection I0. Onesupporting member of this type is shown in the assembly of Fig. 1 at IS.

The form of support shown in Fig. 7 is adapted to accommodate aplurality of relatively small and light pieces of equipment. It consistsof a base bar it to one face of which a plurality of pairs of springretaining arms I! are rigidly attached. On the opposite face of the basebar a plurality of projections I8 are provided for removably attachingthe support of the backing sheet. The projections l8 may be similar inconstruction to the projections i 0 and they are spaced apart a distanceequal to the horizontal distance between two of the apertures of thebacking sheet. A support of this type is shown in the assembly of Fig. 1at l9.

In the form of support shown in Fig. 7 the base portions of thesupporting projections l8 advantageously may be narrowed to the widthrequired to fit the lower slotted portions of the apertures of thebacking sheet, along a line parallel to the principal axis of the basebar as well as perpendicular thereto so that the support may be securedto the backing sheet in a vertical position by inserting the projectionsit through apertures in the backing sheet appropriately spacedvertically, as at 20, if it is desired to accommodate additional bulkyequipment near the lower end of the display rack.

Where a display rack is provided with a greater number of apertures thanthat required for the service for which it is immediately intended, itsappearance is improved by covering the unused apertures with blankingdiscs preferably of the same material as the facing sheet. This may beaccomplished conveniently by providing a number of blanking discs of theconstruction shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The blanking disc 2| shown in Figs.5 and 6 is provided with a supporting projection 22, similar inconstruction to the supporting projection Hi. It is secured to theblanking disc below the center. The projections 22 may be mountedconcentrically with the blanking disc if desired, but if mountedconcentrically a'larger blanking disc is required to cover the upperextremity of the aperture when the projection 22 is moved downwardlyinto the lower slotted portion of the aperture. Two such blanking discsare shown in place at 20 in the assembly shown in Fig. 1.

A suitable name plate may be mounted at the upper extremity of thedisplay rack as shown at 23, if desired, and such name plateadvantageously may be bolted or otherwise semi-permanently secured tothe backing sheet in view of the fact that it is not subject to frequenthandling and soiling as are the instrument supports. However, the nameplate, if provided, may be removably secured to the face of the displayrack in the same manner as the instrument supports.

The display rack assembly may be mounted in any manner so long assuflicient space is provided in the rear to permit the insertion andmovement of the projections 10. One suitable mounting is illustrated inFig. 2 in which the display rack rests on the angle iron 24 which issupported by easel 25. The entire display rack assembly may however besupported near the upper end, for example by an angle 26 perma nentlyattached to the rear of the surface of the backing sheet.

It is a further advantage of the novel construction embodied in thedisplay rack of the present invention, that it permits quantityproduction of heavy backing sheets suitably punched to meet a largevariety of requirements while the more expensive facing sheets, providedwith registering apertures only where needed for a particular class ofservice may be used interchangeably therewith.

We claim:

1. In combination in apparatus of the class described, a rigid backingsheet having a plurality of spaced apertures disposed in the centralportion thereof, a thin facing sheet separate from and detachablymounted on said backing sheet, said facing sheet being substantiallyco-extensive with said backing sheet and secured at its periphery tosaid backing sheet, a plurality of apertures in said facing sheet spacedto register with the apertures in said backing sheet, and a plurality ofinstrument-carrying means, said instrument-carrying means havingsupporting projections extending from the rear surface thereof adaptedto be inserted through said apertures and to exert a pressure on therear surface of the said backing sheet upon movement downwardly parallelto the surface of said backing sheet, whereby the instrument-carryingmeans are removably supported and the central portion of said backingsheet and said facing sheet are held firmly together.

2. In combination in apparatus of the class described, a rigid backingsheet having a pinrality of apertures spaced apart a substantialdistance and disposed in the central portion thereof, and an integralinstrument-carrying means, said instrument-carrying means having on oneface a plurality of spring retaining arms spaced apart a substantialdistance and adapted to support and yieldingly hold an instrument and onthe opposite face a plurality of supporting projections spaced apart asubstantial distance to register with said apertures, said supportingprojections being proportioned to permit insertion through saidapertures and to exert a presapertures therein spaced to register withthe apertures in said backing sheet, the edges of said facing sheetsurrounding the apertures therein being drawn through the apertures insaid backing sheet to a plane flush with the rear surface thereof, andan integral instrument-carrying I means having on one face a pluralityof supporting arms and on the opposite face a plurality of supportingprojections proportioned to permit insertion through said apertures andto exert a pressure on the rear surface of said backing sheet wheninserted through said apertures and moved downwardly parallel to thesurface of the backing sheet, whereby said instrument-carrying means isremovably supported by the backing sheet and the backing sheet andfacing sheet are held firmly together.

4. In combination in apparatus of the class described, a rigid backingsheet having a plurality of apertures spaced horizontally therein and aplurality of apertures spaced vertically, the distance between centersof the vertically spaced apertures being the same as the distancebetween the centers of said horizontally spaced apertures, an integralinstrument-carrying means having on one face a plurality of supportingarms and on the opposite face a plurality of supporting projectionsspaced apart a distance equal to the distance between said apertures,said supporting projections being proportioned so as to permit theirinsertion through said apertures and to exert a pressure on the rear ofsaid backing sheet upon movement oi the instrument-carrying meansdownwardly in a direction parallel to the surface of said backing sheet,whereby said instrument-car'rying means may be movably supported by saidbacking sheet with its principal axis in either a horizontal or verticalposition.

E. SHOEMAKER. GERTHAL FRENCH.

